Changing hair
colour and “relaxing” the hair

Question

I have seen that some people use
materials to dye their hair different colours, be it black, red, etc., and also using
something else to make curly hair straight. It is permissible to do such things, and does
the ruling apply equally to young and old?

Answer

Praise be to Allaah.

There is nothing wrong with changing the hair colour and dyeing it any
colour, except black. There is also nothing wrong with using something to make curly hair
straight. This ruling applies to young and old alike, so long as no damage results from
doing this and the material used is pure (taahir) and something that is allowed in Islam.
However, dyeing the hair pure black is not allowed for men or women, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Change this grey hair, but
avoid black.” (Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 5/168).